Spring with Mattie

 

Hi everybody!

Yes, it's been a while. We're sorry to make you wait.

As some of you know, and some of you may not, little Mattie is sick. After almost losing her in January (and four terrible days when she was in the hospital, and I couldn't stay there with her), she has temporarily rebounded and is riding a steroid train that has kept her feeling good for the past few months.

The working diagnosis is lymphoma, which was basically the conclusion after every other possible test in the entire world came up negative. She's an old lady (probably 14 or 15 now!) and I'm grateful that she had so many healthy years before this crept up on us. So it's not tragic (she's at least 98 in doggy years!), but it's still hard, and trying to come to terms with her time running out has - in a word - sucked.

Mattie comes home from the hospital.

Greg trying ANY kind of treats to get her to eat.

That fuzzy face. She's been getting to sleep on my sleeping bag - her FAVORITE THING - since January.

 

So what do you do when your ALL TIME ADVENTURE BUDDY'S time is winding down? 

YOU ADVENTURE YOUR FACES OFF, OF COURSE. 

Over the past few months, we have visited every one of Mattie's favorite places around our home in Santa Barbara - Hendry's Beach, Douglas Preserve (where Mattie and I first met, on a sunny October afternoon way back in 2006), Goleta Beach, Elwood Mesa, UC Santa Barbara, Campus Point...our old haunts where we walked and smelled and spaced out over the past decade. 

Our family at the Douglas Preserve.

And we've even made it back to our second home - the Eastern Sierra Nevada - where we have spend months and months wandering, exploring, hiking, fishing, camping, and really LIVING together.

Greg and Mattie and miles of nothing (everything).

Adventure day near the Dolomites.

Always nose into the wind, right at home in the Owens Valley.

Greg. Cold.

On a perfect January evening.

We set another goal to get back there in FEBRUARY with Mattie, and that happened too. She is a TOUGH little dog. We stayed up in a sweet little cabin at Convict Lake, fished, found secret places in the hills, walked in the snow and spoiled the dogs rotten.

Treasures in the Volcanic Tablelands.

Greg fishing the Owens.

Behind the cabin, with Morrison looming.

She's a mountain girl.

Milo, Mattie and Greg.

But the Mattie Bucket List wasn't complete.

When Mattie came to Santa Barbara after Hurricane Katrina, she was a sad, sick, dying, miserable girl. At DAWG (the wonderful shelter in town), her foster mom Andrea Stout - who also worked there - found her looking depressed in one of the kennels and took her home to live with her until we found each other. Just a few months after we became a family, Andrea moved out to Fort Collins, CO, and we always said we would come visit her. Of course, life happened, and we hadn't made it out before Mattie got sick. By February, it started to seem like Mattie might be well enough to head out there -- if she could just make it to spring break.

It seemed like a long shot, but week by week the trip became more likely. Then, on March 10th, I finished class and we jumped in the car to head north. We spent a night with Yeti and Dad (HAPPY BIRTHDAY YETI!) and then went up to Reno to grab Greg.

On March 13th, we packed up Ze Buff (Greg's car) and headed east to find Andrea again. It was an amazing, unforgettable adventure with this little one. Here are some pictures of her trip (with a few of Greg and I, and other cool treasures, mixed in):

Heading east from Reno.

Road trip breaks in the pines.

Getting comfortable in her mobile throne.

Lehman Caves, Big Basin National Park.

Greg in Lehman Caves.

Mattie taking it all in. Capitol Reef National Park.

Petroglyphs at Capitol Reef.

Me under Hinkley Bridge, Capitol Reef.

Greg in the Grand Wash.

Then we headed into Arches National Park.

Me and my girl, in front of Double O Arches (Arches NP, Utah).

Riders, horses and dogs. Cool petros at Arches.

Evening walk to Delicate Arch.

Delicate Arch.

Canyonlands with my lifetime adventure partner.

Granaries, Aztec Butte, Canyonlands.

Spaghetti sandwiches. An all time favorite.

Secrets.

We almost lost it at the coolness/creepiness of these wonderful pictographs. A special, sacred-feeling place.

The feeling that you're being watched.

At the quarry, Dinosaur National Monument. We sang the Jurassic Park theme song most of the time.

Greg's best "miserable teenager" impression.

Allosaurus skull. Booooooyaaaaaaaaaa.

Mattie on a short hike to more amazing petros, Dinosaur.

Counting lizards.

One of our favorites. At the mouth of a deep cave, somewhere north of Rock Springs, UT.

Horse and rider, surviving in the sandstone.

Some of the weirdest ones. This rock was covered in finger grooves.

It was all amazing, but now we get to the real point of the trip: the part where Mattie Mae finds Andrea three states away in Colorado.

We drove through Wyoming (BEAUTIFUL. DESOLATE. FREEZING. ELK HERDS. WIND. FLAMING GORGE.) and rolled into Fort Collins on Saturday evening, falling asleep quickly with plans to meet Andrea and Sarah the next day.

On Sunday, we woke, brushed Mattie's hair (she wanted to look her best for the reunion), and met Andrea on a beautiful sunshine-filled day in Colorado. Seeing those two together again, and getting that hug checked off the bucket list, brought me to tears. Andrea is a real hero. She has given so much of her life and love to shy, sad, dysfunctional dogs and cats until they find their forever families. Taking Mattie out there to say Thank You, and for one more big hug, meant more to me than I could put into words. It would take a much better writer to sufficiently describe that gratitude and love. So, again, I defer to a picture:

On a beautiful afternoon at the wonderful and delicious Odell Brewery in Fort Collins, CO, Mattie Mae finds her foster Mom (and our hero) Andrea Stout for an epic reunion.

Andrea and Sarah took us for a great lunch, and then an awesome tour of brewery tastings (Horse & Dragon, Odell), while we talked about Mattie Mae's adventures over the years. The next day, we met them again and they brought sweet old Lola with them so that Mattie and Lola could say hello. That was also special - Lola was the first dog that got Mattie to PLAY after she was brought back from Hurricane Katrina. 

They are both old girls now, and there was something so wonderful about watching them hobbling around together in the park as old deaf lady friends. It's a great thing when dogs get to be old and happy and so loved. 

Andrea with Lola and Mattie. This was awesome.

We said our goodbyes with hugs and thanks (and for me, tears), and got back on the road to beat a serious mountain storm that was rolling in over the next couple of days. After a night in Salt Lake City, we woke to a blizzard which soon subsided, jumped back in Ze Buff and made our way through intermittent snow and hail to the ranch in Reno. 

It's sunny out, and Mattie is comfortable back on her favorite couch, planning her next adventures in this extra time we've been given. We'll keep you posted on these bonus Travels With Mattie. 

Love from a Laughing Place,

Allison and Mattie the Adventure Dog